Systems and methods for endpoint context-driven, dynamic workspaces

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for endpoint context-driven, dynamic workspaces are described. In some embodiments, an Information Handling System (IHS) of a workspace orchestration service, the IHS comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that cause the IHS to: receive initial context information from a local management agent; produce a first workspace definition based upon the initial context information, where the local management agent is configured to instantiate a first workspace based upon the first workspace definition; receive updated context information from the local management agent; and in response to the updated context information being noncompliant with attributes of the first workspace definition, select a second workspace definition, where the updated context information complies with the attributes of the second workspace definition, and the local management agent is configured to instantiate a second workspace based upon the second workspace definition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/670,796, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORENDPOINT CONTEXT-DRIVEN, DYNAMIC WORKSPACES” and filed on Oct. 31, 2019,the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to Information Handling Systems(IHSs), and, more specifically, to systems and methods for endpointcontext-driven, dynamic workspaces.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continue to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option is an Information Handling System (IHS). An IHS generallyprocesses, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data forbusiness, personal, or other purposes. Because technology andinformation handling needs and requirements may vary between differentapplications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allowfor IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or a forspecific use such as financial transaction processing, airlinereservations, enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. Inaddition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software componentsthat may be configured to process, store, and communicate informationand may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

IHSs provide users with capabilities for accessing, creating, andmanipulating data, and often implement a variety of security protocolsin order to protect this data. Historically, IHSs have been designed toimplement security paradigms that isolate them from possible securitythreats, much like a castle is designed and constructed to safeguardpersons within its walls. In the case of a network of IHSs, for example,security systems implement strategies that isolate the entire networkfrom threats. In effect, a set of castle walls is constructed around theentire network. While working from within the walls of such systems,users may be provided with secure and productive use of data.

However, security paradigms that isolate protected data within the wallsof a castle are increasingly frustrated by the realities of moderncomputing. Nowadays, users expect to access protected data using aplethora of different IHSs while located at a variety of physicallocations. In an effort to leverage the security of the system providingaccess to the data, current protocols for supporting remote access havesought to extend the defenses of the system to remote IHSs, essentiallyextending the castle walls to temporarily include all or part of theremote IHSs.

Another complication of modern computing is the user's expectation thatthey will be able utilize their own personal IHSs to access some or allof their protected data, even if those users are provided withenterprise-issued IHSs for accessing it. For administrators of suchsystems, this increases the difficulty in securing all manners in whichprotected data may be accessed. This difficulty is greatly expanded bythe need to support access to protected data using an ever-growing listof software applications, whether on a personal IHS or anenterprise-issued IHS. Moreover, the administration of such systems isfurther complicated by the need to support access to protected data froma variety of physical locations and via a variety of networks, includinguntrusted networks. Faced with such problems, systems for providingaccess to protected data are often burdensome to administer andultimately the data is insufficiently protected so as to facilitate itsproductive use.

A known technique for securing access to protected data accessed via anIHS is to isolate the data within a segregated or virtualizationenvironment that runs on the IHS using a virtual machine or container.Conventional types of virtualization environments provide varyingdegrees of isolation from the hardware and operating system of the IHS.However, similarly to the castle wall defenses of security paradigmsthat seek to isolate protected data within a secure perimeter,conventional virtualization environments are also ill-suited to moderncomputing. Particularly, these virtualization techniques establish anisolated computing environment on an IHS that allows a user to accessonly data and applications approved for that user.

In some instances, conventional virtualization techniques may determinethe data, applications, and protections to be provided by on an IHSbased solely on the identity of the user, and therefore tend toimplement all security protocols that would be necessary to secureaccess to all approved data and applications. As the inventors hereofhave recognized, however, not only does this result in complexvirtualization efforts that consume large portions of the memory andprocessing capabilities of the IHS, but conventional techniques also donot account for what the user actually intends to do while operating theIHS.

As the inventors hereof have further recognized, modern computing oughtto provide users with access to protected data via a variety of IHSs andat practically any location. Yet conventional virtualization fails toaccount for the specific context in which an IHS is being used during aparticular session, much less to account for changes to the context inwhich an IHS is used during a session. Furthermore, conventionalvirtualization techniques tend to provide support for many capabilitiesthat are not actually used. The overhead required to provide suchunnecessary capabilities unduly burdens the operation of an IHS anddegrades productivity and user experience.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods for endpoint context-driven, dynamic workspaces aredescribed. In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, an InformationHandling System (IHS) of a workspace orchestration service may include:a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory havingprogram instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by theprocessor, cause the IHS to: receive initial context information from alocal management agent; produce a first workspace definition based uponthe initial context information, where the local management agent isconfigured to instantiate a first workspace based upon the firstworkspace definition; receive updated context information from the localmanagement agent; and in response to the updated context informationbeing noncompliant with one or more attributes of the first workspacedefinition, select a second workspace definition, where the updatedcontext information complies with the one or more attributes of thesecond workspace definition, and where the local management agent isconfigured to instantiate a second workspace based upon the secondworkspace definition.

The initial context information may include at least one of: anidentification of a locale of the local management agent, anidentification of an application executed or installed in the firstworkspace, an identification of a user of the local management agent, anidentification of a network, an identification of hardware, anidentification of a requested datafile, or an identification of astorage system of the requested datafile.

The program instructions, upon execution, may cause the IHS to:determine that an updated security risk associated with the updatedcontext information is greater than a security target associated withthe first workspace definition; and select the second workspacedefinition, at least in part, in response to the determination.

The program instructions, upon execution, may also cause the IHS to:determine that an updated security risk associated with the updatedcontext information is greater than an initial security risk associatedwith the initial context information by a threshold value; and selectthe second workspace definition, at least in part, in response to thedetermination. The program instructions, upon execution, may cause theIHS to: determine that an updated productivity score associated with theupdated context information is smaller than a productivity targetassociated with the first workspace definition; and select the secondworkspace definition, at least in part, in response to thedetermination.

The program instructions, upon execution, may cause the IHS to determinethat an updated productivity score associated with the updated contextinformation is smaller than an initial productivity score associatedwith the initial context information by a threshold value.

The updated context information may indicate an identity of a givenapplication installed or executed after receipt of the initial contextinformation, where the identity is present in a blacklist or absent froma whitelist of the first workspace definition, and where the identity isabsent from a blacklist or present in a whitelist of the secondworkspace definition. The second workspace definition may be selectedto: reduce a number of applications available, reduce a number ofhardware features available, restrict network access options, or reducea level of data access.

In another illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, a memory storagedevice may have program instructions stored thereon that, upon executionby one or more processors of an IHS of a workspace orchestrationservice, cause the IHS to: receive initial context information from alocal management agent of a client device; produce a first workspacedefinition based upon the initial context information, where the localmanagement agent is configured to instantiate a first workspace basedupon the first workspace definition; receive updated context informationfrom the local management agent of the client device; identify, basedupon a comparison between the updated context information and theinitial context information, that a user of the client device hasmodified a set of one or more applications in the first workspace; andin response to the modification meeting a condition outlined in thefirst workspace definition, select a second workspace definition, wherethe local management agent is configured to instantiate a secondworkspace based upon the second workspace definition.

The initial context information may include at least one of: anidentification of a locale of the client device, an identification of anapplication executed or installed in the current workspace, anidentification of the user of the client device, an identification of anetwork of the client device, an identification of hardware of a clientdevice, an identification of a requested datafile, or an identificationof a storage system of the requested datafile. The program instructions,upon execution, may cause the IHS to: determine that an updated securityrisk associated with the updated context information is greater than asecurity target associated with the first workspace definition; andselect the second workspace definition, at least in part, in response tothe determination.

The program instructions, upon execution, may cause the IHS to:determine that an updated security risk associated with the updatedcontext information is greater than an initial security risk associatedwith the initial context information by a threshold value; and selectthe second workspace definition, at least in part, in response to thedetermination. The program instructions, upon execution, may also causethe IHS to: determine that an updated productivity score associated withthe updated context information is smaller than a productivity targetassociated with the first workspace definition; and select the secondworkspace definition, at least in part, in response to thedetermination.

The program instructions, upon execution, may cause the IHS to:determine that an updated productivity score associated with the updatedcontext information is smaller than an initial productivity scoreassociated with the initial context information by a threshold value;and select the second workspace definition, at least in part, inresponse to the determination.

To determine that the user of the client device has modified the set ofone or more applications in the first workspace, the programinstructions, upon execution, may cause the IHS to determine that theuser has executed or installed a given application in the client deviceduring operation of the workspace. The condition may include a blacklistof applications, and the given application is identified in theblacklist. The program instructions, upon execution, further cause theIHS to: determine that the local management agent has migrated aworkload from the first workspace to the second workspace; and releaseone or more remote resources associated with the first workspace.

In yet another illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, a method mayinclude providing, by a local management agent of a client device to aworkspace orchestration service, initial context information;instantiating, by the local management agent, a first workspace basedupon a first workspace definition, where the first workspace definitionis produced by the workspace orchestration service based upon theinitial context information; providing, by the local management agent tothe workspace orchestration service, updated context information; andinstantiating, by the local management agent, a second workspace basedupon a second workspace definition, where the second workspacedefinition is produced by the workspace orchestration service based upona comparison between the updated context information and the initialcontext information indicating that a set of one or more applications inthe first workspace has been modified.

The comparison between the updated context information and the initialcontext information may indicate that a restricted application has beenexecuted or installed in the client device during operation of the firstworkspace. The method may also include migrating a workload associatedwith the restricted application from the first workspace to the secondworkspace; and terminating the first workspace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention(s) is/are illustrated by way of example and is/arenot limited by the accompanying figures, in which like referencesindicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated forsimplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting examples of components of an IHSconfigured to modernize workspace and hardware lifecycle management inan enterprise productivity ecosystem according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example of a method for modernizingworkspace and hardware lifecycle management in an enterpriseproductivity ecosystem, according to various embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a diagram depicting an example of a systemconfigured to modernize workspace and hardware lifecycle management inan enterprise productivity ecosystem, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of a method for continuousevaluation of workspace definitions using endpoint context, according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of examples of workspace definition modifications,according to various embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a chart of examples of security-based and productivity-basedcontext changes in a workspace, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of examples of endpoint context-driven, dynamicworkspace modifications, according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of this disclosure, an IHS may include any instrumentalityor aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, calculate,determine, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, communicate, manifest, detect, record,reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, ordata for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example,an IHS may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tabletcomputer, mobile device (e.g., Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smartphone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server), a network storagedevice, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape,performance, functionality, and price. An example of an IHS is describedin more detail below. FIG. 1 shows various internal components of an IHSconfigured to implement certain of the described embodiments. It shouldbe appreciated that although certain embodiments described herein may bediscussed in the context of a personal computing device, otherembodiments may utilize various other types of IHSs.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting components of an example IHS 100configured for securing a dynamic workspace in an enterpriseproductivity ecosystem. In some embodiments, IHS 100 may be employed toinstantiate, manage, and/or terminate a workspace, such as a secureenvironment that may provide the user of IHS 100 with access toenterprise data while isolating the enterprise data from the operatingsystem (OS) and other applications executed by IHS 100. In someembodiments, the construction of a workspace for a particular purposeand for use in a particular context may be orchestrated remotely fromthe IHS 100 by a workspace orchestration services, such as describedwith regard to FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, portions of the workspaceorchestration may be performed locally on IHS 100. IHS 100 may beconfigured with program instructions that, upon execution, cause IHS 100to perform one or more of the various operations disclosed herein. Insome embodiments, IHS 100 may be an element of a larger enterprisesystem that may include any number of similarly configured IHSs innetwork communications with each other.

As shown in FIG. 1 , IHS 100 includes one or more processor(s) 101, suchas a Central Processing Unit (CPU), operable to execute code retrievedfrom system memory 105. Although IHS 100 is illustrated with a singleprocessor, other embodiments may include two or more processors, thatmay each be configured identically, or to provide specialized processingfunctions. Processor(s) 101 may include any processor capable ofexecuting program instructions, such as an INTEL PENTIUM seriesprocessor or any general-purpose or embedded processors implementing anyof a variety of Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs), such as the x86,POWERPC®, ARM®, SPARC®, or MIPS® ISAs, or any other suitable ISA. In theembodiment of FIG. 1 , processor(s) 101 includes an integrated memorycontroller 118 that may be implemented directly within the circuitry ofthe processor(s) 101, or memory controller 118 may be a separateintegrated circuit that is located on the same die as processor(s) 101.Memory controller 118 may be configured to manage the transfer of datato and from system memory 105 of IHS 100 via high-speed memory interface104.

System memory 105 that is coupled to processor(s) 101 via memory bus 104provides processor(s) 101 with a high-speed memory that may be used inthe execution of computer program instructions by processor(s) 101.Accordingly, system memory 105 may include memory components, such assuch as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), NAND Flash memory,suitable for supporting high-speed memory operations by processor(s)101. In some embodiments, system memory 105 may combine both persistent,non-volatile memory and volatile memory.

In certain embodiments, system memory 105 includes secure storage 120that may be a portion of the system memory designated for storage ofinformation, such as access policies, component signatures, encryptionkeys, and other cryptographic information, for use in hosting a secureworkspace on IHS 100. In such embodiments, a signature may be calculatedbased on the contents of secure storage 120 and stored as a referencesignature. The integrity of the data stored in secure storage 120 maythen be validated at a later time by recalculating this signature of thecontents of the secure storage and comparing the recalculated signatureagainst the reference signature.

IHS 100 utilizes chipset 103 that may include one or more integratedcircuits that are coupled to processor(s) 101. In the embodiment of FIG.1 , processor(s) 101 is depicted as a component of chipset 103. In otherembodiments, all of chipset 103, or portions of chipset 108 may beimplemented directly within the integrated circuitry of processor(s)101. Chipset 103 provides processor(s) 101 with access to a variety ofresources accessible via bus 102. In IHS 100, bus 102 is illustrated asa single element. However, other implementations may utilize any numberof buses to provide the illustrated pathways served by bus 102.

As illustrated, a variety of resources may be coupled to processor(s)101 of IHS 100 through chipset 103. For instance, chipset 103 may becoupled to network interface 109, such as provided by a NetworkInterface Controller (NIC) that is coupled to the IHS 100 and allows theIHS 100 to communicate via a network, such as the Internet or a LAN.Network interface device 109 may provide IHS 100 with wired and/orwireless network connections via a variety of network technologies, suchas wireless cellular or mobile networks (CDMA, TDMA, LTE etc.), WIFI andBLUETOOTH. In certain embodiments, network interface 109 may supportconnections between a trusted IHS component, such as trusted controller115, and a remote orchestration service. In such embodiments, aconnection supported by network interface 109 between the remoteorchestration service and the trusted component may be considered anout-of-band (00B) connection that is isolated from the OS of the IHS.

Chipset 102 may also provide access to one or more display device(s) 108via graphics processor 107. In certain embodiments, graphics processor107 may be comprised within one or more video or graphics cards or anembedded controller installed as components of the IHS 100. Graphicsprocessor 107 may generate display information and provide the generatedinformation to one or more display device(s) 108 coupled to IHS 100,where display device(s) 108 may include integrated display devicesand/or external display devices coupled to IHS, such as via an I/O port116, where display device(s) 108 may include integrated display devicesand/or external display devices coupled to IHS. In certain embodiments,graphics processor 107 may be integrated within processor 101. The oneor more display devices 108 coupled to IHS 100 may utilize LCD, LED,OLED, or other thin film display technologies. Each display device 108may be capable of touch input such as via a touch controller that may bean embedded component of display device 108, graphics processor 107, ora separate component of IHS 100 accessed via bus 102.

In certain embodiments, chipset 103 may utilize one or more I/Ocontrollers to access hardware components such as user input devices 111and sensors 112. For instance, I/O controller 110 may provide access touser-input devices 110 such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, touchscreenand/or other peripheral input devices. User input devices 111 mayinterface with I/O controller 110 through wired or wireless connections.Sensors 112 accessed via I/O controllers 110 may provide access to datadescribing environmental and operating conditions of IHS 100 (e.g.,accelerometers, gyroscopes, hinge sensors, rotation sensors, hall effectsensors, temperature sensors, voltage sensors, current sensors, IRsensors, photosensors, proximity sensors, distance sensors, magneticsensors, microphones, ultrasonic sensors, etc.).

In some cases, chipset 103 may include a sensor hub capable of utilizinginformation collected by sensors 112 in determining the relativeorientation and movement of IHS 100. For instance, the sensor hub mayutilize inertial movement sensors, that may include accelerometer,gyroscope, and magnetometer sensors, and are capable of determining thecurrent orientation and movement of IHS 100 (e.g., IHS 100 is motionlesson a relatively flat surface, IHS 100 is being moved irregularly and islikely in transport, the hinge of IHS 100 is oriented in a verticaldirection). In certain embodiments, the sensor hub may also includecapabilities for determining a location and movement of IHS 100 based ontriangulation of network signal and based on network informationprovided by the OS or network interface 109. In some embodiments, thesensor hub may support additional sensors, such as optical, infrared andsonar sensors, that may provide support for xR (virtual, augmented,and/or mixed reality) sessions hosted by the IHS 100 and may be used bythe sensor hub provide an indication of a user's presence near IHS 100,such as whether a user is present, absent, and/or facing the integrateddisplay 108.

In cases where the end-user is present before IHS 100, the sensor hubmay further determine a distance of the end-user from the IHS, wherethis determination may be made continuously, at periodic intervals, orupon request. The detected or calculated distances may be used byprocessor 101 to classify the user as being in the IHS's near-field(user's position<threshold distance A), mid-field (threshold distanceA<user's position<threshold distance B, where B>A), or far-field (user'sposition>threshold distance C, where C>B). As described in additionaldetail below, the failure to detect an authenticated user of the IHS 100within a proximity of the IHS 100 may result in a change in the securityprofile of IHS 100, thus triggering a re-evaluation of the security riskof workspaces operating on IHS 100. Similar re-evaluation may betriggered based on the detection of additional individuals in proximityto IHS 100.

In embodiments where IHS 100 may support multiple physicalconfigurations, such as a convertible laptop, N-in-1 device, or thelike, the sensor hub may utilize one or more mode sensors 112 thatcollect readings that may be used in determining the current posture inwhich the IHS 100 is physically configured. In certain embodiments, suchposture determinations may be additionally made using the movement andorientation information provided by sensors 112. In laptop andconvertible laptop embodiments, for example, processor 101 or trustedcontroller 115 may utilize a lid position sensor 112 to determine therelative angle between the two panels of the laptop in order todetermine the mode in which IHS 100 is physically configured. In suchembodiments, the lid position sensor may measure the angle of rotationof the hinge that connects the base panel and lid panel of IHS 100. Insome embodiments, processor 101 or trusted controller 115 may providecollected lid position information, such as the hinge angle, to thesensor hub for use in determining the posture in which IHS 100 isconfigured. In some embodiments, the sensor hub may interface directlywith the lid position sensor in determining hinge angle information.

The sensor hub may determine the posture of IHS 100 based, at least inpart, on the angle of rotation of the hinge of IHS 100 from a closedposition. A first range of hinge angles from a closed position mayindicate a laptop posture, a second range of hinge angles may indicate alandscape posture and a third range of angles may indicate a tabletposture. The sensor hub may additionally utilize orientation andmovement information collected from inertial movement sensors 112 tofurther determine the posture in which the IHS 100 is physicallyconfigured. For instance, if the sensor hub determines that IHS 100 isconfigured with a hinge angle of a laptop configuration, but IHS 100 isoriented on its side, the IHS may be determined to be in a book mode. IfIHS 100 is determined to be tilted such that the hinge is orientedbetween horizontal and vertical, the user's face is detected to befacing the integrated display, and IHS 100 is experiencing slightmovement, the sensor hub may determine that the IHS 100 is being used ina book posture. The sensor hub may determine that IHS 100 is opened to a180-degree hinge angle and lies on a flat surface, thus indicating thatIHS 100 it is being used in a landscape posture. The sensor hub maysimilarly determine that IHS 100 is in a tent configuration, in responseto detecting a hinge angle within a defined range, such as between 300and 345 degrees, and also detecting an orientation of IHS 100 where thehinge is aligned horizontally and is higher than both of the displaypanels of IHS 100.

Other components of IHS 100 may include one or more I/O ports 116 forcommunicating with peripheral external devices as well as various inputand output devices. For instance, I/O 116 ports may include HDMI(High-Definition Multimedia Interface) ports for use in connectingexternal display devices to IHS 100 and USB (Universal Serial Bus)ports, by which a variety of external devices may be coupled to IHS 100.In some embodiments, external devices coupled to IHS 100 via an I/O port116 may include storage devices that support transfer of data to andfrom system memory 105 and/or storage devices 119 of IHS 100. Asdescribed in additional detail below, the coupling of storage devicesvia an I/O port 116 may result in a change in the security profile ofIHS 100, thus triggering a re-evaluation of the security risk ofworkspaces operating on IHS 100.

Chipset 103 also provides processor(s) 101 with access to one or morestorage devices 119. In various embodiments, storage device 119 may beintegral to the IHS 100, or may be external to the IHS 100. In certainembodiments, storage device 119 may be accessed via a storage controllerthat may be an integrated component of the storage device. Storagedevice 119 may be implemented using any memory technology allowing IHS100 to store and retrieve data. For instance, storage device 119 may bea magnetic hard disk storage drive or a solid-state storage drive. Insome embodiments, storage device 119 may be a system of storage devices,such as a cloud drive accessible via network interface 109.

As illustrated, IHS 100 also includes BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)117 that may be stored in a non-volatile memory accessible by chipset103 via bus 102. Upon powering or restarting IHS 100, processor(s) 101may utilize BIOS 117 instructions to initialize and test hardwarecomponents coupled to IHS 100. BIOS 117 instructions may also load anoperating system for use by IHS 100. BIOS 117 provides an abstractionlayer that allows the operating system to interface with the hardwarecomponents of the IHS 100. The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface(UEFI) was designed as a successor to BIOS. As a result, many modernIHSs utilize UEFI in addition to or instead of a BIOS. As used herein,BIOS is intended to also encompass UEFI.

In the illustrated embodiment, BIOS 117 includes a predefined memory ormemory region that may be referred to as NVM (Non-Volatile Memory)mailbox 106. In such an implementation, mailbox 106 may provide asecured storage location for use in storing workspace access policies,signatures, cryptographic keys or other data utilized to host andvalidate a workspace on IHS 100. In certain embodiments, the BIOSmailbox 106 may be utilized as a secure storage utilized by a remoteorchestration service in order to store access policies andcryptographic keys for use in delivering and deploying a securedcontainer on IHS 100. BIOS mailbox 106 and secured storage 120 in systemmemory 105 may be utilized in this manner instead of, or in conjunctionwith, out-of-band functions implemented by trusted controller 115.

In certain embodiments, trusted controller 115 is coupled to IHS 100.For example, trusted controller 115 may be an embedded controller (EC)that is installed as a component of the motherboard of IHS 100. Invarious embodiments, trusted controller 115 may perform variousoperations in support of the delivery and deployment of a workspace toIHS 100. In certain embodiments, trusted controller 115 may interoperatewith a remote orchestration service via an out-of-band communicationspathway that is isolated from the operating system that runs on IHS 100.Network interface 109 may support such out-of-band communicationsbetween trusted controller 115 and a remote orchestration service.

Trusted controller 115 may receive cryptographic information requiredfor secure delivery and deployment of a workspace to IHS 100. In suchembodiments, the cryptographic information may be stored to securedstorage 121 maintained by trusted controller 115. Additionally, oralternatively, trusted controller 115 may support execution of a trustedoperating environment that may support cryptographic operations used todeploy a workspace on IHS 100. Additionally, or alternatively, trustedcontroller 115 may support deployment of a workspace within the OS ofIHS 100 via an out-of-band communications channel that is isolated fromthe OS and allows the workspace to communicate with a trusted agentprocess of the OS.

Trusted controller 115 may also provide support for certaincryptographic processing used to support secure deployment and operationof workspaces on IHS 100. In some embodiments, such cryptographicprocessing may be provided via operations of a secure operatingenvironment hosted by trusted controller 115 in isolation from thesoftware and other hardware components of the IHS 100. In someembodiments, trusted controller 115 may rely on cryptographic processingprovided by dedicated cryptographic hardware supported by the IHS, suchas a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) microcontroller. In some embodiments,the secured storage 121 of trusted controller 115 may be utilized tostore cryptographic information for use in authorization of workspaces.

In certain embodiments, trusted controller 115 may be additionallyconfigured to calculate signatures that uniquely identify individualcomponents of IHS 100. In such scenarios, trusted controller 115 maycalculate a hash value based on the configuration of a hardware and/orsoftware component coupled to IHS 100. For instance, trusted controller115 may calculate a hash value based on all firmware and other code orsettings stored in an onboard memory of a hardware component, such as anetwork interface 109. Such hash values may be calculated as part of atrusted process of manufacturing IHS 100 and may be maintained in thesecure storage 121 as a reference signature.

Trusted controller 115 may be further configured to recalculate a hashvalue at a later time for such a component. The hash value recalculatedfor the component may then be compared against the reference hash valuesignature in order to determine if any modifications have been made to acomponent, thus indicating the component has been compromised. In thismanner, trusted controller 115 may be used to validate the integrity ofhardware and software components installed on IHS 100. In certainembodiments, remote orchestration service 206 may verify the integrityof the trusted controller 115 in the same manner, by calculating asignature of trusted controller 115 and comparing it to a referencesignature calculated during a trusted process for manufacture of IHS100. In various embodiments, one or more of these operations supportedby trusted controller 115 may be implemented using BIOS 117.

Trusted controller 115 may also implement operations for interfacingwith a power adapter in managing power for IHS 100. Such operations maybe utilized to determine the power status of IHS 100, such as whetherIHS 100 is operating from battery power or is plugged into an AC powersource. Firmware instructions utilized by trusted controller 115 may beused to operate a secure execution environment that may includeoperations for providing various core functions of IHS 100, such aspower management and management of certain operating modes of IHS 100(e.g., turbo modes, maximum operating clock frequencies of certaincomponents, etc.).

In managing operating modes of IHS 100, trusted controller 115 mayimplement operations for detecting certain changes to the physicalconfiguration of IHS 100 and managing the modes corresponding todifferent physical configurations of IHS 100. For instance, where IHS100 is a laptop computer or a convertible laptop computer, trustedcontroller 115 may receive inputs from a lid position sensor 112 thatmay detect whether the two sides of the laptop have been latchedtogether to a closed position. In response to lid position sensor 112detecting latching of the lid of IHS 100, trusted controller 115 mayinitiate operations for shutting down IHS 100 or placing IHS 100 in alow-power mode.

IHS 100 may support the use of various power modes. In some embodiments,the power modes of IHS 100 may be implemented through operations oftrusted controller 115 and/or the OS of IHS 100. In various embodiments,IHS 100 may support various reduced power modes in order to reduce powerconsumption and/or conserve battery power when IHS 100 is not activelyin use, and/or to control a level of performance available to the userby increasing or decreasing a maximum operating clock frequency of acomponent of IHS 100 (e.g., processor(s) 101).

In some embodiments, an IHS 100 may not include all of the componentsshown in FIG. 1 . In other embodiments, an IHS 100 may include othercomponents in addition to those that are shown in FIG. 1 . Furthermore,some components that are represented as separate components in FIG. 1may instead be integrated with other components. For example, in certainembodiments, all or a portion of the operations executed by theillustrated components may instead be provided by components integratedinto processor(s) 101 as systems-on-a-chip.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example of method 200 for securing adynamic workspace in an enterprise productivity ecosystem. For sake ofillustration, method 200 has been split into three phases: workspaceinitialization phase 200A, workspace orchestration phase 200B, andworkspace termination phase 200C. During initialization 200A, user 201(e.g., an enterprise user) operates an IHS 100 (e.g., a desktop, alaptop, a tablet, a smart phone, etc.) such as described with regard toFIG. 1 within physical environment 202 (e.g., any type of environmentand its associated context, including physical location, geographiclocation, location within a particular facility or building, detectednetworks, time of day, proximity of the user, individuals in thevicinity of IHS 100, etc.).

Method 200 starts with an action by user 201 at a launch point 203 thatmay be, for example, a corporate launch point provided by an employer ofuser 201, a launch point 203 provided by the manufacturer of IHS 100, ora launch point provided as a service to user 201 by a third-party.Particularly, user 201 operates IHS 100 to access launch point 203 thatis provided, for example, in the form of a web portal, a portalapplication running in the operating system of IHS 100, aspecial-purpose portal workspace operating on IHS 100, or the like. Invarious implementations, launch point 203 may include Graphical UserInterface (GUI) elements representing different software applications,data sources and/or other resources that the user may desire to executeand/or manipulate. In various embodiments, launch point may provide agraphical, textual and/or audio interface by which data or otherresource may be requested by a user 201. As such, an authenticated user201 may be provided a launch point that provides visibility as to one ormore software applications and an aggregation of user's data sourcesavailable across all of their datastores (e.g., local storage, cloudstorage, etc.).

As described in additional detail below, workspaces for providing user201 with access to requested data or other resources may operate using alocal management agent 332 that operates on IHS 100 and is configured tointeroperate with workspace orchestration service 206. In variousembodiments, launch point 203 may be provided in the form of a portal(e.g., a webpage, OS application or special purpose workspace) thatallows user 201 to request access to managed resources. In variousembodiments, launch point 203 may be hosted by remote workspaceorchestration service 206, local management agent 332 on IHS 100, or anysuitable combination thereof. Examples of launch point 203 technologiesmay include WORKSPACE ONE INTELLIGENT HUB from WMWARE, INC., and DELLHYBRID CLIENT from DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC., among others.

Initialization phase 200A begins when user 201 chooses to launch anapplication or access a data source managed by the workspaceorchestration service 206. In response to an access request issued byuser 201 (e.g., the user “clicks” on an icon of launch point 203), localmanagement agent 332 of IHS 100 collects initial security andproductivity context information at 204. As described in additionaldetail with regard to FIG. 4 , the security context information mayinclude attributes indicating a security risk associated with: the dataand/or application being requested, a level of risk presented by theuser 201, the hardware utilized by the IHS 100, the logical environmentof IHS 100 in which a workspace will be deployed to provide access tothe requested data and/or application, and the physical environment 202in which IHS 100 is currently located.

Accordingly, in this disclosure, the term “security context” generallyrefers to data or other information related to a security posture inwhich a workspace will be deployed and utilized, where the securityposture may be based on the, user, IHS 100, data to be accessed via theworkspace, and/or environment 202. As described in additional detailwith regard to FIGS. 4 and 5 , a security context may be quantified as asecurity risk score in support of evaluations of the level or riskassociated with providing user 201 access to requested data and/orapplication while using IHS 100 in the particular context. A “securityrisk score” generally refers to a numerical value usable to score,quantify, or measure various security characteristics of the securitycontext associated with a request. A risk score may be an aggregatescore associated with the overall security risk context, whereas a “riskmetric” may be a measurement of risk for a sub-category of some part ofthe security context.

As described in additional detail with regard to FIGS. 4 and 5 ,security metrics that may be used in the calculation of a security riskscore for a particular security context may include, but are not limitedto: a classification of the requested data source and/or application,authentication factors used to identify user 201, the location of IHS100, a role or other group classifications associated with user 201,validation of networks in use by IHS 100, type of network in use by IHS100, network firewall configurations in use by IHS 100, indicators ofattack (IoA), indicators of compromise (IoC) regarding IHS 100 or aresource being requested by user 201, patch levels associated with theoperating system and other applications in use on IHS 100, availabilityof encryption, type of available encryption, access to secured storage,use of attestable hardware by IHS 100, supported degree of workspaceisolation by IHS 100, etc.

The term “productivity context” generally refers to user productivityassociated with a workspace, user, IHS, or environment. A “productivityscore” generally refers to an index usable to score, quantify, ormeasure various productivity characteristics of a productivity context.Examples of productivity context information include, but are notlimited to: the hardware of the IHS, the software of the IHS, includingthe operating system, power states and maximum clock frequencies ofselected components of the IHS, peripheral devices coupled to the IHS,either permanently or temporarily, networks available to the IHS and theperformance characteristics of those networks, software installersavailable on the IHS, etc.

Initial productivity and security targets for a workspace may becalculated based on the context of user's 201 actions combined with theproductivity and security context in which the workspace will operate.The productivity and security targets may also be based on user's 201behavioral analytics, IHS 100 telemetry and/or environmental information(e.g., collected via sensors 112). In some cases, at 205, a localmanagement agent operating on IHS 100 may calculate initial security andproductivity targets based upon the collected security and productivitycontext. In other cases, remote workspace orchestration service 206 maycalculate security and productivity targets.

As used herein, the term “security target” generally refers to theattack surface presented by a workspace that is created and operatedbased on a workspace definition, while the term “productivity target”generally refers to the productivity characteristics of a particularworkspace definition. Examples of a productivity target include, but arenot limited to: type of data or data source available to user 201,minimum latency of a workspace, etc. Conversely, attributes that may beused to characterize a security target may include, but are not limitedto: a minimum security score for a workspace, a minimum trust score ofIHS 100, authentication requirements for user 201 (e.g., how manyauthentication factors are required, frequency of re-authentication),minimum level of trust in the network utilized by a workspace, requiredisolation of a workspace from IHS 100, the ability to access browserwithin a workspace, the ability to transfer data between workspaces, theability to extend a workspace, etc.

Moreover, the term “workspace definition” generally refers to acollection of attributes that describe aspects a workspace that may beassembled, created, and deployed in a manner that satisfies a securitytarget (i.e., the definition presents an attack surface that presents anacceptable level of risk) and a productivity target (e.g., data access,access requirements, upper limits on latency, etc.) in light of thesecurity context (e.g., location, patch level, threat information,network connectivity, etc.) and the productivity context (e.g.,available device type and performance, network speed, etc.) in which theworkspace is to be deployed. A workspace definition may enable fluidityof migration of an instantiated workspace, since the definition supportsthe ability for a workspace to be assembled on any target OS or IHS thatis configured for operation with the workspace orchestration service206.

In describing capabilities and constraints of a workspace, a workspacedefinition 208 may prescribe one or more of: authentication requirementsfor user 201, containment and/or isolation of the workspace (e.g., localapplication, sandbox, docker container, progressive web application or“PWA,” Virtual Desktop Infrastructure “VDI,” etc.), primary applicationsthat can be executed in the defined containment of the workspace toenable user 201 to be productive with one or more data sources,additional applications that enhance productivity, security componentsthat reduce the scope of the security target presented by theproductivity environment (DELL DATA GUARDIAN from DELL TECHNOLOGIESINC., an anti-virus, etc.), the data sources to be accessed andrequirements for routing that data to and from the workspace containment(e.g., use of VPN, minimum encryption strength), workspace capabilitiesto independently attach other resources; etc.

In some implementations, workspace definitions may be based at least inpart on static policies or rules defined, for example, by anenterprise's Information Technology (IT) personnel. In someimplementations, static rules may be combined and improved upon bymachine learning (ML) and/or artificial intelligence (AI) algorithmsthat evaluate historical productivity and security data collected asworkspaces are life cycled. In this manner, rules may be dynamicallymodified over time to generate improved workspace definitions. If it isdetermined, for instance, that a user dynamically adds a text editorevery time he uses MICROSOFT VISUAL STUDIO from MICROSOFT CORPORATION,then workspace orchestration service 206 may autonomously add thatapplication to the default workspace definition for that user.

Still with respect to FIG. 2 , during orchestration 200B, the initialsecurity and productivity targets are processed and/or reconciledagainst resources, device capabilities, and cloud services available,etc., to produce a workspace definition at 208. As described, aworkspace definition may specify capabilities and constraints of aworkspace, such as: runtime security requirements of the workspacecontainment (e.g., such as isolation from the OS of IHS 100 or fromcertain hardware of IHS 100), the use of reference measurements toattest to the integrity of the workspace once running, applications tobe provided for operation within the workspace, aggregation of resourcesavailable via the workspace, access configurations (e.g., virtualprivate network or “VPN”), etc.

The initial workspace definition may then then utilized by automationengine 302 of workspace orchestration service 206 to coordinate theassembly 209 and instantiation 210 of a workspace on an appropriateplatform—e.g., on the cloud or on IHS 201—based on the security andproductivity contexts in which the workspace will operate. In caseswhere a workspace is cloud-hosted, the automation engine 302 mayassemble and instantiate a remote workspace that may be accessed via asecure connection established via a web browser or other web-basedcomponent operating on the IHS 100. In some embodiments, automationengine 302 may resolve configuration conflicts between a workspacedefinition and the user's inputs in the operation of a workspace.

The instantiated workspace is operated by user 201 at 211, and newproductivity and security context information related to the behavior oruse of data is generated at 212. This operation of a workspace mayresult in a change or new classification of data based upon what user201 has done, accessed, and/or created, thus resulting in a change tothe security context of the workspace. To the extent the user'sbehavioral analytics, device telemetry, and/or the environment haschanged to a quantifiable degree, these changes in security context mayserve as additional input for a reevaluation of the security andperformance targets at 207 by automation engine 302. Additionally, oralternatively, new workspace context, security target, and/orproductivity target may be now measured against the initial targets, andthe result may cause automation engine 302 to produce a new workspacedefinition at 208, if appropriate.

Particularly, if the instantiated workspace(s) have parameters that falloutside of the range of the target indexes such that a differencebetween additional or updated context information and the initial orprevious context information is scored below a threshold value,automation engine 302 may process the assembly of modifications to anexisting workspace and deploy such modifications at 210. Conversely, ifthe difference between the additional or updated context information andthe initial or previous context information is scored above a thresholdvalue, automation engine 302 may generate a new workspace at 210.Session data metadata and context may be preserved by data aggregationengine 336, and session data may be restored as applicable.

Additionally, or alternatively, method 200 may terminate or retire theinitial or previous workspace at 213, as part of termination phase 200C.In some cases, user action may initiate the termination process (e.g.,user 201 closes application or browser accessing data) and/ortermination may take place automatically as part of an adjustment inworkspace definition (e.g., the isolated environment is instructed toterminate by automation engine 302). Still as part of termination phase200C, workspace resources of IHS 100 and/or at workspace orchestrationservice 206 may be released.

As such, in various embodiments, method 200 enables secure userproductivity even when a workspace operates on an IHS or cloud platformthat is not under direct management. Method 200 also provides fordynamic or adaptive configurations and policies allowing for the bestpossible user experience while maintaining appropriate level ofsecurity. In some cases, the definition of a productivity environmentand access requirements may be selected based upon productivity andsecurity dependencies and targets, and the definition of capabilitiesrelated to the workspace may be adaptive in nature. Particularly,workspace definition attributes may be dynamically selected based uponhistorical productivity and security information, based upon eachindividual user or group's behavior.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a diagram of an example of system components 300Aand 300B (collectively referred to as “system 300”) configured tomodernize workspace and hardware lifecycle management in an enterpriseproductivity ecosystem. Particularly, component system 300A comprisesworkspace orchestration service 206, and it may include one or more IHSsremotely located and/or networked having program instructions storedthereon that, upon execution, cause the one or more IHSs to performvarious workspace orchestration operations described herein, including,but not limited to: the dynamic evaluation of security and productivitytargets based upon updated context information received from IHS 100,the calculation of risk scores and other productivity and securitymetrics based on ongoing collection of context information, thegeneration of workspace definitions, and the assembly of one or morefiles or policies that enable the instantiation of a workspace inaccordance with a workspace definition at a cloud service and/or IHS300B.

Component 300B includes IHS 100 may have program instructions storedthereon that, upon execution, cause IHS 100 to perform various localmanagement operations described herein, including, but not limited to,the collection of productivity and security context information, thecalculation of productivity scores and/or risk scores, theinstantiation, execution, and modification of a workspace based uponfiles or policies, such as workspace definitions, received fromworkspace orchestration service 206, etc.

Workspace orchestration service 300A and IHS 300B may be coupled to eachother via any suitable network technology and/or protocol, which allowsworkspace orchestration service 300A to be remotely provided withrespect to IHS 300B. As described with regard to FIG. 1 , an IHSaccording to embodiments may include a component such as a trustedcontroller that may support certain secure out-of-band communicationsthat are independent from the operating system of IHS 100. In someembodiments, such a trusted controller may be configured to supportdeployment and operation of workspaces on 300A and to report changes incontext information to the workspace orchestration service 300A.

As illustrated in component 300A of FIG. 3A, workspace orchestrationservice 206 may include a number of sub-components that supportdeployment and ongoing evaluation and adaptation of workspaces on an IHS300B. Embodiments of the workspace orchestration service 300A mayinclude systems that may support: web services 306, manufacturerintegration 317, and analytics 323. Moreover, web services 306 maycomprise application services 301 and user interface (UI) and automationservices 302.

Analytics services 323 may be configured to receive and process contextinformation from IHS 300B, both during initial configuration of aworkspace and in ongoing support of workspaces, and to provide thatinformation, along with any analytics generated, to context logic 303 ofapplication services 301. Based on information collected during thedeployment and ongoing support of workspaces, support assistanceintelligence engine (SAIE) 324 may be configured to generate and/oranalyze technical support information (e.g., updates, errors, supportlogs, etc.) for use in diagnosing and repairing workspace issues.Workspace insights and telemetry engine 325 may be configured to analyzeand/or produce device-centric, historical, and behavior-based data(e.g., hardware measurements, use of features, settings, etc.) resultingfrom the operation of workspaces. Workspace intelligence 326 may includeany suitable intelligence engine for processing and evaluating contextdata in order to identify patterns and tendencies in the operation ofworkspaces and in the adaptation of workspaces based on context changes.

As illustrated, an application services 306 system of the workspaceorchestration service 300A includes an UI and automation services 302system that may include context logic or engine 303, classificationpolicy 304, and condition control module or engine 305. Context logic orengine 303 may support processing of context information in making riskassessments (e.g., evaluating the risk associated requests by the useragainst the context of the user's behavior, history of the user's IHS,capabilities of the user's IHS, and environmental conditions). Forinstance, as described with regard to FIGS. 4 and 5 , security contextinformation collected by IHS 300B may be provided to workspaceorchestration service 300A where it may be used, such as by contextlogic 303, to calculate a risk score associated with a request for useof a managed data source and/or application. Classification policy 304may include administrator and machine-learning defined policiesdescribing risk classifications associated with different securitycontexts, such as risk classifications for specific data, locations,environments, IHSs, logical environments, or user actions (e.g., use ofhigh-risk data requires use of a workspace definition suitable for usewith a risk score above a specific value). Condition control module orengine 305 may include intelligence providing automated decision makingfor appropriately aligning risk and context. In some cases, conditioncontrol module or engine 305 may dynamically deploy a solution toaddress any detected misalignment of risk and context. For instance,upon requesting access to a highly classified data source that resultsin a significant increase in risk score, the condition control enginemay select workspace definition modifications that implement securityprocedures that are suitable for the higher risk score.

Application services 301 may include a group of web services 306 calledon by UI and automation services 302 to support various aspects of theorchestration of workspaces. Particularly, web services 306 may includeapplication and workspace services 307 that may assemble and packageapplications for deployment in a workspace (e.g., an “.msix” filepackaged and deployed to a MICROSOFT HYPER-V container). In someembodiments, a workspace definition may be used to specify whether auser will be provided access to an application in this manner. Webservices 306 may also include a tenant subscription module 308, thatperforms dynamic configuration of an IHS and deployment of the describedworkspace orchestration services at the point-of-sale (POS) of an IHS. Alicense tracking module 309 may be used to maintain and track licenseinformation for software, services, and IHSs. An access control module310 may provide top level access controls used in controlling access todata and applications by authorized users. A Unified Endpoint Management(UEM) module 311 may be configured to support the describedorchestration of workspaces on various different IHSs that may beutilized by a particular user.

Web services 306 that may be used in support of workspaces may furtherinclude resource provisioning services 312 for configuring an IHS orworkspace with secrets/credentials necessary to access specificresources (e.g., credentials for use of VPNs, networks, data storagerepositories, workspace encryption, workspace attestation, andworkspace-to-device anchoring). In some cases, resource provisioningservices 312 may include secrets provisioned as part of a trustedassembly process of IHS 300B and, in some instances, associated with aunique identifier 348 of the IHS 300B. Web services 306 may also includean authorization/token module that provides identity functions and mayconnect to various authentication sources, such as, for example, ActiveDirectory. Endpoint registration module 314 may be configured toregister IHSs and/or workspaces with management service that tracks theuse of the described workspace orchestration. In some scenarios, adirectory services 315 module may be configured to provide activedirectory services (e.g., AZURE ACTIVE DIRECTORY from MICROSOFTCORPORATION). Device configuration services 316 enable centralconfiguration, monitoring, managing, and optimization of workspaces thatin certain contexts may operate remotely from an IHS and may onlypresent the user of the IHS with an image of the workspace output. Incooperation with resource provisioning services 312, deviceconfiguration services 316 may also handle secret creation and IHSconfiguration, and it some cases, may be out-of-band capable and handleselected operations to the endpoint.

Still referring to FIG. 3A, manufacturer integration components 317communicate with application services 301 and client IHS 300B to providefeatures that are usable during workspace evaluation and instantiation,where these features are based upon information available to themanufacturer of client IHS 300B. For instance, certificate authority 318may include an entity that issues digital certificates that may be usedin validating the authenticity and integrity of the hardware of IHS300B. Identity service module or engine 319 may be configured to managethe user's or owner's identity as well as brokering identification foruse of customer directory 322. Order entitlement module or engine 320may be responsible for managing the entitlements purchased as well asthe associated issued certificates signed by 318. Ownership repository321 may manage user entitlements associated with IHSs and theirownership and may provide support for users transferring ownership of anIHS and conveying the entitlements associated with that IHS. In certainscenarios, ownership repository 321 may use this transfer of ownershipto decommission the secrets associated with the entitlements embedded inthe IHS. Customer directory 322 may be configured to authenticate andauthorize all users and IHSs in a network, such as assigning andenforcing security policies for all IHSs and installing or updatingsoftware (in some cases, customer directory 322 may work in cooperationand/or may be the same as directory services 315).

Referring now to IHS 300B of FIG. 3B, in some embodiments, IHS 300B maybe configured to operate a local management agent 332 that may runwithin a secure execution environment 345 hosted by a trusted controller341, such as trusted controller 115 of FIG. 1 . In other embodiments,the local management agent 332 may operate as a trusted and attestableprocess of the operating system of IHS 300B. In some embodiments, localmanagement agent 332 may include a workspace engine suitable forinstantiating and managing the operation of one or more workspaces331A-N on IHS 300B. As described, the capabilities of a workspace may bemodified based on changes in the productivity and security contexts inwhich the workspace is operating. Accordingly, the workload(s) in eachof the workspaces 331A-N may be hosted in a public cloud, a privatecloud, a specific server, or locally hosted on IHS 300B, depending onthe context in which the workspace is operating. These allocations ofworkspace computing for each particular workspace 331A-N may beprescribed by the workspace definition that is used to build and operateeach workspace. As described, the workspace definition may be created byworkspace orchestration service 206 based upon context informationprovided by IHS 300B, security targets for each workspace 331A-N, andproductivity targets for each workspace 331A-N.

In some embodiments, local management agent 332 may be configured tohost, launch, and/or execute a workspace hub 327 that provides a launchpoint 203 by which user's initiate workspaces through the selection ofmanaged data and resources. In various embodiments, launch point 203 maybe an agent, application, special-purpose workspace or web portal theprovides an interface by which a user may select from an aggregatedcollection of data sources, applications, calendars, messages or othermanaged information or resources that are available to the user of IHS300B via operation of a workspace as described herein. In variousembodiments, the launch point 203 may be provided in the form fortextual, graphical and/or audio user interfaces that allow a user of IHS300B to select available data and/or resources. In some embodiments,workspace hub 327 may utilize a local environment management module 328in providing the workspace interface that is presented to the user onIHS 300B and doing so in a consistent manner across workspaces 331A-N.Workspace hub 327 may also include a local intelligence logic or engine329 used to support modeling the use of IHS 300B in order to improvecharacterization of the actual risk associated with a risk context. Userauthentication and access control operations may be performed by a localidentify module 330 that may interface with trusted controller 341 inproviding user authentication.

In some cases, each instantiated workspace 331A-N may be an environmentthat provides a user with access to requested data or applications,where the environment may be isolated in varying degrees from thehardware and software of IHS 300B based on the security context andproductivity context in which each workspace 331A-N is operating. Insome instances, the selection of a data source or resource that areavailable to user via launch point 203 may result in launching a newworkspace. For instance, if a user launches a browser through selectionof an icon displayed by launch point 203, a new workspace may be createdand launched according to a workspace definition that has been selectedfor providing the user access to a web browser in the security andproductivity contexts in which the request has been made. In a scenariowhere the user double clicks on a confidential presentation fileavailable from a data source that is provided by launch point 203, anadditional workspace may be instantiated with a presentation applicationproviding access to the requested presentation file, where this newworkspace is created based on a workspace definition that providedappropriate security for access to the confidential presentation). Inother instances, a selection of the presentation file by a user mayresult in the presentation being made available through the existingworkspace, in some cases using the existing workspace definition and, inother cases, using a workspace definition that has been modified tosupport the requested access to the confidential presentation file.

Although workspaces 331A-N supported by IHS 330B may each be isolated tovarying degrees from the hardware and/or software of IHS 300B and fromeach other, a user of IHS 330B may expect to be able to operate themultiple workspaces 331A-N in a manner that allows content to betransferred between the different workspaces 331A-N. For instance, auser may select a portion of the data displayed in workspace 331A andutilize operating system or other workspace functions to copy the datafor copying to workspace 331B.

In various embodiments, a local management agent 332 may operate in fullor in part on a secure platform 345 hosted by trusted controller 341that operates independent from the operating system of IHS 300B. In someembodiments, all or part of local management agent 332 may operate astrusted components of the operating system of IHS 300B. To execute thevarious operations described herein, local management agent 332 mayinclude a command monitor 334 configured to provide instrumentation toreceive commands from workspace orchestration service 300A and thusenable access to IHS 300B. Local management agent 332 may also includetelemetry module 335 that may be configured for communicating collectedinformation to the workspace orchestration service 300A, includingreporting changes in context that may warrant adjustments to workspaces331A-N. Data aggregator 336 may track all of the data source and otherresources (e.g., applications, local or cloud-based services) that maybe provided to the user via a workspace.

Local management agent 332 may utilize a resource manager module 337that is configured to manage access to data, network configuration, suchas for VPNs and network access, identity information, access control,and resource provisioning services. Security module 338 may beconfigured to provide various security services. BIOS interface 339 mayprovide a secure BIOS interface used for accessing and managingcredentials in secure object storage. A BIOS analytics module 340 may beconfigured to perform forensic services for BIOS telemetry and healthassessments. Persistence module 346 may be configured to supportpersistence of applications entitled at a POS or assigned byadministrators and supported with required license tracking. Workspaceattestation module 333 may provide a platform centric service layer ontop of a container engine provided by local management agent 332 and maybe used to measure and attest workspaces 331A-N in any suitable mannerdefined or orchestrated by condition control 305.

As part of secure platform 345, native management module 347 may beconfigured to enable out-of-band management interface with workspaceorchestration service 206, where this OOB interface operates independentform the OS of IHS 300B. In some embodiments, the OOB managementinterface supported by native management module 347 may be utilized bythe device configuration services 316 of the workspace orchestrationservice to access the secure platform services 345 of IHS 300B.

Digital device ID module 348 may provide a unique, unspoofable,cryptographically bound identifier. In embodiments supporting a secureplatform 345, secure embedded controller 341 may be a hardened hardwaremodule that may include a root of trust module 342 configured as atrusted data store and, in some cases for cryptographic processing, thatmay be trusted within a cryptographic system. A device attestationservice 343 may be configured to perform device assurance and trustservices (e.g., secure BIOS and secure boot, etc.). A secure objectstore 344 may be provided that is configured to lock and access keys,hashes, and/or other secrets in an EC and/or trusted platform module(TPM).

In some scenarios, IHS 100 may be provisioned by a manufacturer thatalso controls manufacturer integration components 317, workspaceattestation module 333 may operate in conjunction with secure objectstore 342, authenticated BIOS module 339, and/or digital device identitymodule 348, etc., to further secure and/or control productivity featuresavailable in any of workspaces 331A-N based upon hardware devices andsettings unique to that IHS and/or designed specifically by thatmanufacturer.

To further illustrate how the systems and methods described hereinoperate to modernize workspace and hardware lifecycle management in anenterprise productivity ecosystem, three non-limiting use-cases orexamples are discussed in turn below.

Use-Case A

In use-case A, a given user may request access to a protected datasource on the enterprise's premise using a corporate-owned and imagednotebook, such configured as described with regard to IHS 100 of FIG. 1and client IHS 300B of FIG. 3 .

In response to the request, a local management agent 332 operating onthe user's notebook retrieves information describing the current contextand calculates security and productivity targets based on the determinedcontext. In this use-case, the local management agent may have beeninstalled by IT, and it may be running in the background as a service.The confidential data may be associated with the local management agenton the local machine, based on file classification (e.g., filemetadata/type/properties/permissions, folder location, encrypted region,etc.). Moreover, the local management agent may continuously collectcurrent context information and send it to the orchestration service foruse in scoring the risk and productivity of the workspace (this may alsobe done at the time of the user's access request or indication ofintent).

When the user selects the confidential data, such as via a selection viathe OS of the notebook, the local management agent notifies theworkspace orchestration service of the request and for a workspacedefinition for a workspace by which the user may be provided access tothe confidential data.

In this example, the workspace orchestration service may score anoverall security risk to have a value of “2,” using a weighed, machinelearning, or artificial intelligence algorithm, based upon the followingcontext information or inputs, each of which is also given as a riskmetric based upon a selected policy: locale: 1 (safe locale); userpersona: 1 (known high-confidence in a reasonably sophisticated userclassification—a user whom historically does not click on phishingemails); network risk: 1 (low risk because of on premise, wiredconnection detected); device risk: 1 (high level of control because ofcorporate owned/managed platform, known versions, security featuresenabled, etc.); regulatory: 1 (based on user, data, locationcombinations—e.g., No restrictions with respect to General DataProtection Regulation or “GDPR,” Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act “HIPAA,” Payment Card Industry “PCI,” technologyexport, etc.); and data type: 8 (a confidential datafile is beingrequested).

The workspace orchestration service may also calculate a productivityscore to have a value of “9,” using a weighed, machine learning, orartificial intelligence algorithm, based upon the following contextinformation or inputs, each of which is also given as a resource metricbased upon a selected policy: locale: 10 (office); user persona: 9 (a“skilled” classification based upon advanced compute tasks, proficiency,and/or speed); network speed/latency: 10 (fast, wired, Gigabit Ethernet,or direct to internal network); device performance: 8 (fast, expensiveCPU, memory, graphics, but storage only needs—e.g., <10 GB); and datatype: 10 (the local, confidential file is easy to read/write with lowlatency and high performance on local storage).

Second, based upon the security score and/or context information, theworkspace orchestration service builds a workspace definition filehaving any suitable structure with workspace definition attributes in amachine-readable format (e.g., JSON name-value, XML structured, etc.).In this example, the security target may be deemed to have a value of“1” based upon a combination of attributes values representing loads,needs, or demands on security controls and containment features that mayinclude: threat monitoring: 1 (low demand); threat detection: 1 (lowdemand); threat analytics: 1 (low demand); threat response: 1 (lowdemand); storage confidentiality: 2 (low); storage integrity: 2 (low);network confidentiality: 1 (low); network integrity: 1 (low); memoryconfidentiality: 1 (low); memory integrity: 1 (low); displayconfidentiality: 1 (low); display integrity: 1 (low); userauthentication: 1 (low, basic password is fine, non-multifactorauthentication or “MFA,” no session expiration); IT administrator scope:1 (administrator manages remotely but does not need heavy remediationsoftware; and regulatory compliance: 1 (no GDPR, No HIPAA, no PCI, notech export restriction, etc.).

Based upon the productivity target and/or context information, aproductivity target for the workspace definition may be deemed to have avalue of “9” (defining a high-quality, responsive user experience) basedupon a combination of attribute values representing productivityrequirements as follows: local storage: 7 (partial hard drive control,some storage reserved for IT load); CPU access: 10 (unlimited); localgraphics: 10 (unlimited); and application stack: 10 (can useapplications, install applications that the user needs, give themadministrator rights, etc.).

Third, after the workspace definition is complete, the workspaceorchestration service and the local management agent may assemble theworkspace and instantiate it for the user. For example, the localmanagement agent may receive definition files (e.g., JSON, XML, etc.)from the orchestration service, and it may parse the file to implementsecurity risk controls such as: threat monitoring: 1 (local managementagent does not install threat, detection, and response or “TDR”software); threat detection: 1 (local management agent does not installTDR software); threat analytics: 1 (orchestration does not need togather detailed telemetry from the system, OS will not be enrolled inlogging); threat response: 1 (local management agent does not installsecurity threat response agent); storage confidentiality: 2 (localmanagement agent deploys a local file-system encryption product that theuser can optionally enable on specific files as needed with right-clickcontext menus); storage integrity: 2; network confidentiality: 1 (localmanagement agent confirms basic firewall configuration is correct—e.g.,IT GPO-controlled); network integrity: 1; memory confidentiality: 1(local management agent confirms configuration—e.g., No SGX, TXT, orcontainer/sandbox software deployed); memory integrity: 1; displayconfidentiality: 1 (local management agent confirms graphics driversinstalled, privacy screen and camera optionally managed by user);display integrity: 1; user authentication: 1 (local agent confirms basicGPO password rules are configured, and met by user—e.g., number ofcharacters, no session expiration, etc.); IT administrator scope: 1(local agent runs with system privilege, confirms IT admin accounts arelisted in local admin user group—e.g., per GPO); and regulatorycompliance: 1 (local agent does not install any compliance assistancesoftware).

After confirming the configuration, the workspace orchestration serviceand the local management agent may give the user access to the requestedlocal confidential file, and the user may begin working in a newlycreated workspace.

Use-Case B

In use-case B, a user may request access to a confidential datafilewhile at a coffee shop using an open public network and anIT-managed/owned PC, such configured as described with regard to IHS 100of FIG. 1 and client IHS 300B of FIG. 3 .

First, a local management agent (332) executed by a client IHS (300B)retrieves the requested context and calculates security and productivityscores based on context. In this use-case, the local management agentmay have been installed by IT, and it may be running in the backgroundas a service. The confidential data may kept on a shared IT-managednetwork resource on-premises (e.g., back in a main corporate office),and the local management agent may be responsible for monitoring whenthis data path is requested by the user (e.g., the user hits a specificURL, IP, etc.). Moreover, the local management agent may continuouslycollect all current context and send it to the workspace orchestrationservice to assist in scoring processes later (this may also be done atthe time of the user's access request or indication of intent, ratherthan a continuous collection).

When the user selects the desired confidential datafile, the client IHS(300B)'s OS calls the local management agent associated with the path tothe confidential datafile and calls back to a remote workspaceorchestration service (206) to request a workspace definition.

In this example, the workspace orchestration service may score anoverall security risk to have a value of “4,” using a weighed, machinelearning, or artificial intelligence algorithm, based upon the followingcontext information or inputs, each of which is also given as a riskmetric based upon a selected policy: locale: 5 (public, safe country);user persona: 5 (new user, classification data does not exist yet);network risk: 5 (medium, public but common location, wireless connectiondetected); device risk: 1 (high level of control, corporateowned/managed platform, known versions, security features enabled,etc.); and regulatory: 1 (based on user, data, locationcombinations—e.g., no restrictions with respect to General DataProtection Regulation or “GDPR,” Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act “HIPAA,” Payment Card Industry “PCI,” technologyexport, etc.).

The workspace orchestration service may also calculate a productivityscore to have a value of “5,” using a weighed, machine learning, orartificial intelligence algorithm, based upon context information orinputs, each of which is also given as a resource metric based upon aselected policy. For instance, security contexts inputs may include:locale: 6 (remote location but in USA major city, in a public area,non-employees are within visual/audio range of device); user persona: 5(unknown confidence “null” classification, uses default onboardingassumptions); network speed/latency: 4 (medium, wireless but AC onshared network); and device performance: 8 (fast, expensive CPU, memory,graphics, but storage only needs ˜<10 GB).

Second, based upon the security score and/or context information, theworkspace orchestration service builds a workspace definition filehaving any suitable structure with workspace definition attributes in amachine-readable format (e.g., JSON name-value, XML structured, etc.).In this example, a security target may be deemed to have a value of “4”based upon a combination of attributes values representing loads, needs,or demands on security controls and containment features as follows:threat monitoring: 4 (medium demand); threat detection: 4 (mediumdemand); threat analytics: 4 (medium demand); threat response: 4 (mediumdemand); storage confidentiality: 4 (medium); storage integrity: 9(high); network confidentiality: 5 (medium); network integrity: 2 (low);memory confidentiality: 4 (medium); memory integrity: 8 (high); displayconfidentiality: 7 (medium/high—worried about “shoulder surfers” readingdata from an adjacent seat or table nearby, public location) displayintegrity: 2 (low); user authentication: 4 (medium, two-factorauthentication using a hardware token, session expiration upon sleep,screen lock, or logout); IT administration scope: 3 (administrator canmonitor, manage, and remediate remotely if the user calls them for helpwith IT issues); and regulatory compliance: 1 (no GDPR, No HIPAA, noPCI, no tech export restriction, etc.).

Based upon the productivity target and/or context information, aproductivity target for the workspace definition may be deemed to have avalue of “7” (defining a high-quality, responsive user experience) basedupon a combination of attribute values representing productivityrequirements as follows: local storage: 7 (partial hard drive control,some storage reserved for IT load); CPU access: 10 (unlimited); localgraphics: 10 (unlimited); and application stack: 7 (can useapplications, can install some IT-approved applications that the userneeds, but no administrator rights, because the user cannot be trustedto install only valid/safe productivity software, but can installpre-approved IT applications as needed).

Third, after the workspace definition is complete, the workspaceorchestration service and the local management agent may assemble theworkspace and instantiate it for the user. For example, the localmanagement agent may receive definition files (e.g., JSON, XML, etc.)from the orchestration service, and it may parse the file to implementsecurity risk controls such as: threat monitoring: 5 (local managementagent installs or confirms prior installation/configuration of TDRsoftware); threat detection: 5 (local management agent installs orconfirms prior installation/configuration of TDR software); threatanalytics: 5 (orchestration confirms telemetry is accessible, OS will beenrolled in logging if not already enrolled); threat response: 2 (localmanagement agent downloads but does not run remote incident responseapplication-preparation in case incident is detected); storageconfidentiality: 5 (local management agent deploys a local containertechnology, such as sandbox, with restricted “save” permissions suchthat the confidential files will not be allowed to save locally on thePC, but can be accessed as long as the session is active in memory);storage integrity: 5; network confidentiality: 5 (local management agentsteps up firewall protections, disabling all unnecessary ports, andestablishes a VPN back to the corporate office for protecting traffic tothe local sandbox); network integrity: 5; memory confidentiality: 5(local management agent configures sandbox container to isolateapplication and data from other applications/threats that may infiltratethe host OS); memory integrity: 5; display confidentiality: 7 (localmanagement agent confirms graphics drivers installed, enforces privacyscreen and uses camera to detect specific onlooker threats); displayintegrity: 7; user authentication: 4 (local agent confirms basic GPOpassword rules are configured, and met by user—e.g., number ofcharacters, no session expiration, etc., but also adds in a requirementfor hardware token to log in and again to establish network); ITadministrator scope: 4 (local agent runs with administrator and remoteaccess privilege, confirms IT admin accounts are listed in local adminuser group—e.g., per GPO); and regulatory compliance: 4 (local agentinstalls state specific rule enforcement or monitoring software).

After confirming the configuration, the workspace orchestration serviceand the local management agent may give the user access to the requestedlocal confidential file, and the user may begin working in a newlycreated workspace.

Use-Case C

In use-case C, a user may request access to a confidential datafile in aweb hosted remote portal using a browser from Kazakhstan, while at aninternet café with a borrowed/rented PC, such configured as describedwith regard to IHS 100 of FIG. 1 and client IHS 300B of FIG. 3 , on anopen WiFi network.

First, a remote workspace orchestration service (332) intercepts theaccess request and evaluates the browser and user context, andcalculates security and productivity scores. In this use-case, there isno local management agent; all that is known is the browser and anytelemetry returned or garnered through the HTTP/S session. Assume, forsake of this example, that the confidential data may kept on a sharedIT-managed network resource on-premises (e.g., back in a main corporateoffice) and that the datafile will remain there with only remoterendering/access privileges. Web-based context may be gathered throughthe browser session or supplied by the user. Moreover, user context mayalso be collected for the workspace orchestration service throughalternate side-channels (e.g., travel calendar information, recent userbilling activity on corporate credit card, phone call logs, and/orlocation data).

When the user selects the desired confidential datafile from the webbrowser, the back-end web server infrastructure calls back to theworkspace orchestration service to request a workspace definition.

In this example, the workspace orchestration service may score anoverall security risk to have a value of “9,” using a weighed, machinelearning, or artificial intelligence algorithm, based upon the followingcontext information or inputs, each of which is also scored as a riskmetric based upon a selected policy: locale: 9 (Kazakhstan); userpersona: 1 (user was expected to be there, the timing seems right basedupon past logins, and he has a biometric watch communicator proving heis alive, himself, and located where he says he is—so that IT can alwaystrust him); network risk: 9 (high, public and in a very obscure place);device risk: 9 (zero trust); and regulatory: 8 (based on user, data,location combinations).

The workspace orchestration service may also calculate a productivityscore to have a value of “5,” using a weighed, machine learning, orartificial intelligence algorithm, based upon the following contextinformation or inputs, each of which is also given as a resource metricbased upon a selected policy: locale: 3 (internet café device withoutgreat performance); user persona: 9 (known high-confidence and “skilled”classification—advanced compute tasks, proficiency, and speed); networkspeed/latency: 3 (low quality—Wireless G from a long way away); anddevice performance: 3 (have to be able to tolerably browse web pages butbased on what the service believes the capabilities will be, the serviceshould build simple ones).

Second, based upon the security score and/or context information, theworkspace orchestration service builds a workspace definition filehaving any suitable structure with workspace definition attributes in amachine-readable format (e.g., JSON name-value, XML structured, etc.).In this example, a security target may be deemed to have a value of “9”based upon a combination of attributes values representing loads, needs,or demands on security controls and containment features as follows:threat monitoring: 10 (high demand, to be handled on the server side);threat detection: 10 (high demand, to be handled on the server side);threat analytics: 10 (high demand, to be handled on the server side);threat response: 10 (high demand, to be handled on the server side);storage confidentiality: 10 (high demand, to be handled on the serverside); storage integrity: 8; network confidentiality: 10 (high demand,to be handled on the server side); network integrity: 9; memoryconfidentiality: 10 (high demand, to be handled on the server side);memory integrity: 9; display confidentiality: 10 (high, “shouldersurfers” may read datafile from an adjacent seat or table nearby in apublic location); display integrity: 9; user authentication: 10 (high,three-factor authentication using login, hardware token, and biometricsatellite watch—session expiration and refreshes every 30 seconds); ITadministrator scope: 8 (administrator may monitor, manage, and remediateremotely if the user calls them for help or anything unexpectedhappens); and regulatory compliance: 10 (all network traffic is securelymonitored as will the data presented).

Based upon the productivity target and/or context information, aproductivity target for the workspace definition may be deemed to have avalue of “3” (defining a usable secure user experience primarily builtfor consumption and not productivity) based upon a combination ofattribute values representing productivity requirements as follows:local storage: 1 (cache only); CPU access: 3 (build for limitedexpectations); local graphics: 3 (build for limited expectations); andapplication stack: 1 (web browser experience on a kiosk mode device,limited data entry capability, limited read access to need-to-know onlyinformation through VDI rendered kiosk).

Third, after the workspace definition is complete, the workspaceorchestration service and remote cloud web portal (e.g., session theuser logged into through the browser) may assemble the workspace andinstantiate it for the user in the browser. For example, the web portalmay receive definition files (e.g., JSON, XML, etc.) from theorchestration service, and it may parse the file to implement securityrisk controls such as: threat monitoring: 9 (data center basedmanagement agent installs or confirms prior installation/configurationof TDR software); threat detection: 9 (data center based managementagent installs or confirms prior installation/configuration of TDRsoftware); threat analytics: 9 (orchestration confirms telemetry isaccessible, server hosting web server may be enrolled in logging if notalready enrolled—user behavioral telemetry from side channels may alsobe continuously monitored for suspicious/anomalous activity); threatresponse: 10 (data center-based management agent sets up watchdog timerto kill session automatically without periodic check-ins fromorchestration, user telemetry, and web browser); storageconfidentiality: 9 (data center-based management agent builds aprogressive web application that may be used to display the data througha secure TLS link—the data will be rendered but only the as-neededportions of visualization presented to the user, and nothing can besaved); storage integrity: 10; network confidentiality: 9 (route trafficthrough best effort to secure locations—do not allow anything exceptbitmap renderings through the enforceable network); network integrity:4; memory confidentiality: 9 (web page viewer only-no data leaves thedata center, no confidential input is taken from the rented PC, nokeyboard input is allowed, and all input may be captured from randomizedvirtual keyboard using mouse click coordinates); memory integrity: 8;display confidentiality: 8 (best effort to ensure confidentiality—promptuser at least—adjustable font sizes, but defaults to small fonts,obfuscated text, etc.); display integrity: 2; user authentication: 9(local agent confirms basic password rules are configured, and met byuser—e.g., number of characters, no session expiration, etc., but alsoadds in a requirement for hardware token and biometric, satellite watchto log in and again to establish network, requiring frequentreconfirmation from user); IT administrator scope: 7 (data center-basedremote environment); and regulatory compliance: 8 (local agent does notexist but data center-based agent monitors/blocks data not appropriate).

After confirming the configuration, the workspace orchestration serviceand the local management agent may give the user access to the requestedrendered data, and the user may begin working in a newly createdworkspace.

In various embodiments, systems and methods described herein may enablethe dynamic adjustment of workspaces, such that workspace and/or accessdevice resources may grow or shrink over time based upon a comparisonbetween: (i) workload and/or productivity demands or needs, and (ii)security risks. In some implementations, these comparisons may beperformed periodically, continuously, and/or may be triggered byselected events.

To appropriately scale, right-size, or optimize a workspace to balanceproductivity needs against security risks, workspace orchestrationservice 206 may be configured to validate or test whether a givenworkspace is well-adjusted. For example, in order to test whether aworkspace properly balances workloads/productivity against securityrisks, local management agent 332 and/or workspace orchestration service206 may use endpoint context information collected during theutilization phase of the workspace to determine if hardware and/orsoftware resources are over-utilized, over-constrained, under-utilized,or over-privileged.

Data points collected from endpoint context may be aggregated in ascoring system, with points and multipliers/weights assigned to adifferent one of a plurality of categories of data (e.g., productivitycontext, security context, workspace context, and user context). If theaggregate score reaches a selected upper or lower threshold, localmanagement agent 332 and/or workspace orchestration service 206 may takeappropriate action, such as automatically and/or locally adjustingsettings and features of the workspace, reporting thresholds exceeded toa remote entity, requesting and/or receiving remote assistance,modifying a current workspace definition, and/or or creating a newworkspace definition. The thresholds and threshold values may themselvesbe stored as attributes in a given workspace definition, and may also bedynamically adjusted either by weighted, ML, and/or AI algorithms inresponse to changes in context information.

For example, in an implementation, data points may be assigned to one oftwo categories of data: workspace context and user context. Examples ofworkspace context information include, but are not limited to: networkuse, data use, and application use. Conversely, examples of user contextinformation include, but are not limited to: number of mouse clicks onthe same region of a GUI per unit time, number of keystrokes per unittime, etc.

When under-utilized and/or over-privileged, a workspace may exhibitcertain characteristics, and, when over-utilized and/orover-constrained, the reverse may be true. The context of applications,frameworks, hardware, or features installed along with level of dataaccess provided, as well as other resources, may be normalized andaggregated into a workspace context score, which can be used to triggeractions if thresholds are crossed.

Moreover, when a workspace is under heavy utilization, a user mayexhibit behaviors that can be used as context for workspace definitionadjustment decisions if they cross certain thresholds. User behaviordata points may be normal, nominal, or average user input rates, such asthe number of clicks or keystrokes.

In some cases, user behavior may be measured in terms of a userfrustration score or indicator, quantifying behaviors such as, forexample: a user clicking on the same area of the screen repeatedly(e.g., indicating that they are perceiving a lack of responsiveness fromthe software) or above a threshold number of times, the user repeatingthe same keystrokes a selected number of times during a preset timeinterval, the user performing simultaneous keystrokes, accelerometerdata indicating IHS movement or impact event of a given magnitude, anIHS lid being shut and/or open, and/or specific changes to a distancebetween the user and the client device (e.g., the user walking away fromthe IHS), etc.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of method 400 for continuousevaluation of workspace definitions using endpoint context. In variousembodiments, method 400 may be performed by workspace orchestrationservice 206 in cooperation with local management agent 332.Particularly, within configuration stage 401, block 402 may setthreshold values for minimum and/or maximum security scores, and forminimum and/or maximum productivity scores, where these scores arecalculated based upon context information gathered by client device 100during the lifecycle of a workspace. Then, at block 403, method 400 maycreate a workspace definition using the available context informationand/or access request (e.g., as part of operation 208 in FIG. 2 ).

At block 404, method 400 may instantiate or deploy a workspace basedupon the workspace definition (e.g., as part of operation 210 in FIG. 2).

Within score monitoring and updating stage 405, block 406 calculates auser productivity score and block 407 calculates a security risk orscore. In various implementations, these scores may be calculated byassigning values and weights to contextual information collected byclient device 100, followed by the application of a weighed formula, MLalgorithm, or AI algorithm configured to combine dissimilar informationinto a numerical score.

In other cases, user/workload productivity context information may alsobe collected, monitored, and/or updated at block 406, including, but notlimited to: hard disk drive (HDD) use, CPU use, memory use, applicationsinstalled, network location, mouse/trackpad clicks, keystrokes, accessto data, access to applications, etc. In yet other cases, block 406 maycalculate or update a user frustration score based upon at least one of:a number of repeated clicks on a same area of a display during aselected time period, a number of repeated keystrokes during theselected time interval, a number of simultaneous keystrokes, a magnitudeof a mechanical impact event, a lid of the client device being shutand/or open, changes to a distance between the user and the clientdevice.

At block 408, method 400 determines whether any of the thresholds ofblock 402 have been met or exceeded, thereby indicating that the currentworkspace is either over-privileged or over-constrained. For example, todetermine that a workspace is over-privileged, block 407 may determinethat a current security risk is greater than a security target and/or aprevious security risk associated with the current workspace definitionby a threshold amount; and/or that a current productivity score isgreater than a productivity target and/or a previous productivity scoreassociated with the current workspace definition by a threshold amount.Additionally, or alternatively, to determine that the workspace isover-privileged, block 407 may determine that a security risk is largerthan a productivity score by a threshold amount.

Conversely, to determine that a workspace is over-constrained, block 407may determine that a current productivity score is smaller than aproductivity target and/or a previous productivity score associated withthe current workspace definition by a threshold amount; and/or that acurrent security risk is smaller than a security target and/or aprevious security risk associated with the current workspace definitionby a threshold amount. Additionally, or alternatively, to determine thatthe workspace is over-constrained, block 407 may determine that aproductivity score is larger than a security risk by a threshold amount.

In some cases, to determine that a workspace is over-constrained, block407 may determine that a current user frustration score meets or exceedsa threshold value and/or is larger than a previous user frustrationscore by a threshold amount. In some situations, the user frustrationscore may be determinative of whether to add resources to a workspaceand/or whether the security target of a new or modified workspacedefinition be increased, for example, in response to a specific useridentification or type of user identification (e.g., John Doe, anyhigh-level executive of a corporation, etc.).

If there is no over-privileged or over-constrained condition detected,control returns to block 405. Otherwise, at block 409, method 400modifies the current workspace definition or creates a new workspacedefinition. Then, block 410 determines whether to re-deploy the modifiedor new workspace. If not, control returns to block 405. Otherwise,control returns to block 401, and after new threshold(s) are set atblock 402 and a new workspace defined at block 403, the new workspace isinstantiated at block 404. Generally speaking, the new workspace mayinclude more features or resources than the previous workspace if theprevious workspace was over-constrained, or fewer features or resourcesthan the previous workspace if the previous workspace wasover-privileged.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of examples of workspace definition modifications500A-B, according to various embodiments. As shown, scenario 500Aillustrates an over-privileged workspace 501A with available resources502A and user context information 503A, such that workspace 501A islarger than necessary for the user to maintain an expected level ofproductivity and use of workspace and/or access device resources, butwhich also results in a larger attack surface. Meanwhile, scenario 500Billustrates an over-constrained workspace 501B with available resources502B and user context information 503B, such that workspace 501B has noextra attack surface, but is smaller than needed for the user tomaintain an expected level of productivity and use of workspace and/oraccess device resources, thereby increasing user frustration metrics,etc.

To address the problems of scenarios 500A and 500B, method 400continuously evaluates scores against targets to determine whetherproductivity and security risk are above or below by selected thresholdamounts. If these thresholds values are met or exceeded, method 400adjust targets and redeploys or adjust the workspace definitions tomaintain optimum security posture 501C, which is right-sized for theuser to maintain an expected level of productivity and use of workspaceand/or access device resources, without creating an unnecessarily largeattack surface.

When workspaces are dynamically produced and adjusted, the productivityand security postures of those workspaces may be continuously and/orperiodically modified to balance their users' resource needs against thesecurity risks presented by their current environments. In many cases,workspace administrators may not have full awareness of each individualuser's resource demands and environmental risks, so defining static“one-size-fits-all” workspaces may result in poor security definitions,compromised user productivity for many users, or a combination of both.In contrast, systems and methods described herein may provideflexibility in workspace definitions without having to predict the exactdemands of a user's working environment.

In some embodiments, systems and methods described herein may determinewhich context variables have a significant impact on productivity orsecurity of a workspace. In some cases, a workspace definition mayinclude different possible configuration, adjustments, and variablesthat facilitate the instantiation and modification of workspaces toaccount for these changes dynamically.

Particularly, systems and methods described herein add flexibility toworkspace definitions by allowing instantiated workspaces to dynamicallyadjust themselves based upon the context of the environment where theclient device and/or user are operating. In some cases, a client devicemay begin by self-evaluating its environment, collecting contextinformation, and subsequently selecting an appropriateadministrator-supplied workspace definition. Additionally, oralternatively, a remote workspace orchestration service may select asuitable workspace definition upon evaluating the context information.

A selected workspace definition may allow for some amount of variationin attribute values by default, and it may begin to change as it isused. Once variation(s) in the current workspace deviate beyondboundaries set in the selected workspace definition (e.g., set by theadministration or workspace orchestration service), a deviation eventmay be triggered, and information about this deviation may be sent backto the administrator (or workspace orchestration service). Theadministrator (or workspace orchestration service) may use a weighed,ML, or AI monitoring or adjusting algorithm to track all deviationsacross workspaces and determine if new workspace definitions should tobe created/derived in response to variations detected by one or morelocal management agents. The amount of variation allowed (e.g., fromsmall to extreme) may also be adjusted in the workspace definitionsbased upon feedback from the monitoring or adjusting algorithm.

FIG. 6 shows chart 600 containing examples of security-based contextchanges 601 and productivity-based context changes 605 in a workspace,according to various embodiments. In graph 600, the horizontal axisshows a current security risk or score and the vertical axis shows acurrent productivity score, each score calculated dynamically as updatedcontext information indicates changes that are taking place at clientIHS 100.

Particularly, elements 602-604 show security-based context changes 601.In this case, the user may initially operate a workspace with a largeproductivity and security scores 602. At 602-603, based upon acomparison between previous context information and then-current contextinformation, workspace orchestration service 206 and/or local managementagent 332 detect a risk-driven change and, in response, security andproductivity are reduced. For example, in response to the user switchingclient IHS's 100 connection from a secure network to an unsecurednetwork (i.e., a lower security risk score), certain applications may beblacklisted and/or access to data or data sources may be furtherrestricted (i.e., a lower productivity score). Then again at 603-604, inresponse to yet another risk-driven change, productivity and securitymay be further reduced. For example, in response to the user moving faraway from client IHS 100, as detected via proximity sensing, access todata may be even further restricted, a display may be dimmed or turnedoff (to protect against bystanders), etc.

Conversely, elements 606-608 show productivity-based context changes605. In this case, the user may initially operate a workspace with alarge productivity and security scores 602. At 606-607, based upon acomparison between previous context information and then-current contextinformation, workspace orchestration service and/or local managementagent detect a productivity-driven change and, in response productivityand security are increased. For example, in response to the userexecuting or installing a new application in the workspace (i.e., ahigher productivity score), access to certain data or data sources maybe allowed (i.e., a higher security risk score). Then again at 607-608,in response to yet another productivity-driven change, productivity isincreased and security is decreased (the security risk score increases).For example, in response to the user moving closer to client IHS 100, asdetected via proximity sensing, access to data may be even lessrestricted, a display may be brightened or turned on, etc.

In various cases, the applicable workspace definition may includeattributes that enable local management agent 332 to implement changesthat facilitate the dynamically scaling of security risk andproductivity based upon user, environmental, and/or workspace context.For example, a workspace definition may include an application whitelistthat indicates which applications (or type of applications), onceexecuted or installed in a workspace, would trigger the calculation of ahigher productivity score. Additionally, or alternatively, the workspacedefinition may include an application blacklist that indicates whichapplications (or type of applications) cannot be executed or installedin the workspace, and/or once executed or installed would trigger thecalculation of a smaller security risk score.

Moreover, workspace orchestration service 206 may be configured tomonitor usage and security contexts, and to derive new workspacedefinitions during usage of the workspace to improve or optimize theworkspace's security-to-productivity balance.

FIG. 7 shows diagram 700 of examples of endpoint context-driven, dynamicworkspace modifications, according to various embodiments. At 701,workspace orchestration service 206 causes workspaces 702-704 to beinstantiated in three different client IHSs by each respective localmanagement agent 332 based upon a workspace definition Z. Assume, forsake of this example, that workspace definition Z has common securityand productivity targets calculated based upon the same initial contextinformation for each client IHS. In this case, workspace 702 in a firstclient IHS executes workload A, workspace 703 in a second client IHSexecutes workload B, and workspace 704 in a third client IHS executesworkload C.

During execution of workload A, the local management agent 332 of thefirst client IHS may detect a newly installed or opened application at705, and the local management agents 332 of the second and third clientIHSs may detect an uninstalled or closed application at 706 and 707,respectively. Alternatively, workspace orchestration service 206 maydetect these changes based upon a comparison between the updated contextinformation and the initial context information received from eachclient IHS at 708.

Still at 708, workspace orchestration service 206 may evaluate thedetected changes with respect to workspace definition Z. If workspaceorchestration service 206 determines that workspace definition Z allowsthe workspaces at 706 and 707 to become smaller when the applicationsare uninstalled or closed, no action needs to be taken with respect tothe second or third client IHSs.

In contrast, if at 708 workspace orchestration service 206 determinesthat the current or requested enlargement of workspace 705 is outsidethe boundaries of the attributes of workspace definition Z (e.g., anidentity of the newly executed or installed application is present in ablacklist or absent from a whitelist of workspace definition Z),workspace orchestration service 206 sets up a new workspace definition Xat 709. For example, in light of the newly installed or executedapplication, workspace definition X may enable more productivity (e.g.,higher productivity target) and security (e.g., higher security target)in a new or modified workspace.

At 710 the newly created workplace may have previous workload A 705migrated thereto. Additionally, or alternatively, at 710, workspaceorchestration service 206 may determine that the local management agenthas migrated a workload from the first workspace to the secondworkspace, and it may release one or more remote resources associatedwith the first workspace.

It should be understood that various operations described herein may beimplemented in software executed by processing circuitry, hardware, or acombination thereof. The order in which each operation of a given methodis performed may be changed, and various operations may be added,reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. It is intended that theinvention(s) described herein embrace all such modifications and changesand, accordingly, the above description should be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The terms “tangible” and “non-transitory,” as used herein, are intendedto describe a computer-readable storage medium (or “memory”) excludingpropagating electromagnetic signals; but are not intended to otherwiselimit the type of physical computer-readable storage device that isencompassed by the phrase computer-readable medium or memory. Forinstance, the terms “non-transitory computer readable medium” or“tangible memory” are intended to encompass types of storage devicesthat do not necessarily store information permanently, including, forexample, RAM. Program instructions and data stored on a tangiblecomputer-accessible storage medium in non-transitory form may afterwardsbe transmitted by transmission media or signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals, which may be conveyed via acommunication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link.

Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference tospecific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as setforth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figuresare to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense,and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scopeof the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions toproblems that are described herein with regard to specific embodimentsare not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeature or element of any or all the claims.

Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used toarbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus,these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or otherprioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operablycoupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly,and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined asone or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any formof comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any formof have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form ofinclude, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any formof contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linkingverbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,”“has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those oneor more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreelements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,”“includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one ormore operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreoperations.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An Information Handling System (IHS) of aworkspace orchestration service, the IHS comprising: a processor; and amemory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructionsstored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the IHS to:select a first workspace definition based upon initial contextinformation of a client IHS in communication with the workspaceorchestration service; communicate the first workspace definition to alocal management agent executed by the client IHS, wherein the localmanagement agent is configured to instantiate a first workspace basedupon the first workspace definition; at least in part in response toupdated context information of the client IHS indicating noncompliancewith one or more aspects of the first workspace definition, select asecond workspace definition; and communicate the second workspacedefinition to the local management agent, wherein the local managementagent is configured to terminate the first workspace and to instantiatea second workspace based upon the second workspace definition.
 2. TheIHS of claim 1, wherein the initial context information comprises atleast one of: an identification of a locale of the local managementagent, an identification of an application executed or installed in thefirst workspace, an identification of a user of the local managementagent, an identification of a network, an identification of hardware, anidentification of a requested datafile, or an identification of astorage system of the requested datafile.
 3. The IHS of claim 1, whereinto determine that the updated context information indicatesnoncompliance with the one or more aspects of the first workspacedefinition, the program instructions, upon execution, further cause theIHS to determine that a security risk associated with the updatedcontext information is greater than a security target associated withthe first workspace definition.
 4. The IHS of claim 1, wherein todetermine that the updated context information indicates noncompliancewith the one or more aspects of the first workspace definition, theprogram instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to determinethat a security risk associated with the updated context information isgreater than an initial security risk associated with the initialcontext information.
 5. The IHS of claim 1, wherein to determine thatthe updated context information indicates noncompliance with the one ormore aspects of the first workspace definition, the programinstructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to determine that aproductivity score associated with the updated context information issmaller than a productivity target associated with the first workspacedefinition.
 6. The IHS of claim 1, wherein to determine that the updatedcontext information indicates noncompliance with the one or more aspectsof the first workspace definition, the program instructions, uponexecution, further cause the IHS to determine that a productivity scoreassociated with the updated context information is smaller than aninitial productivity score associated with the initial contextinformation.
 7. The IHS of claim 1, wherein the updated contextinformation indicates an identity of a given application installed orexecuted within the first workspace, wherein the identity is present ina blacklist or absent from a whitelist of the first work spacedefinition, and wherein the identity is absent from a blacklist orpresent in a whitelist of the second workspace definition.
 8. The IHS ofclaim 1, wherein the second workspace definition is selected to: reducea number of applications available, reduce a number of hardware featuresavailable, restrict network access options, or reduce a level of dataaccess.
 9. A memory storage device having program instructions storedthereon that, upon execution by one or more processors of an InformationHandling System (IHS) of a workspace orchestration service, cause theIHS to: communicate a first workspace definition to a local managementagent of a client device, wherein the local management agent isconfigured to instantiate workspaces based upon workspace definitions;and in response to a determination that at least one aspect of a firstworkspace does not satisfy one or more requirements of the firstworkspace definition, communicate a second workspace definition to thelocal management agent.
 10. The memory storage device of claim 9,wherein the program instructions, upon execution, cause the IHS toselect the first workspace definition based, at least in part, uponcontext information associated with the client device, wherein thecontext information comprises at least one of: an identification of alocale of the client device, an identification of an applicationexecuted or installed in the current workspace, an identification of theuser of the client device, an identification of a network of the clientdevice, an identification of hardware of a client device, anidentification of a requested datafile, or an identification of astorage system of the requested datafile.
 11. The memory storage deviceof claim 9, wherein to determine that the at least one aspect of thefirst workplace does not satisfy the one or more requirements of theworkspace definition, the program instructions, upon execution, furthercause the IHS to determine that a security risk calculated based, atleast in part, upon context information, is greater than a securitytarget of the first workspace definition.
 12. The memory storage deviceof claim 9, wherein to determine that the at least one aspect of thefirst workplace does not satisfy the one or more requirements of theworkspace definition, the program instructions, upon execution, furthercause the IHS to determine that a security risk associated with currentcontext information is greater than a previous security risk associatedwith previous context information.
 13. The memory storage device ofclaim 9, wherein to determine that the at least one aspect of the firstworkplace does not satisfy the one or more requirements of the workspacedefinition, the program instructions, upon execution, further cause theIHS to determine that a productivity score calculated based, at least inpart, upon context information is smaller than a productivity target ofthe first workspace definition.
 14. The memory storage device of claim9, wherein to determine that the at least one aspect of the firstworkplace does not satisfy the one or more requirements of the workspacedefinition, the program instructions, upon execution, further cause theIHS to determine that a productivity score associated with currentcontext information is smaller than a previous productivity scoreassociated with previous context information.
 15. The memory storagedevice of claim 9, wherein the determination that the at least oneaspect of the first workspace does not satisfy the one or morerequirements of the first workspace definition is based, at least inpart, upon a determination that an application was installed in orexecuted by the client device during operation of the workspace.
 16. Thememory storage device of claim 15, wherein the application is identifiedin a blacklist.
 17. The memory storage device of claim 9, wherein theprogram instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to, inresponse to a determination that the local management agent has migrateda workload from the first workspace to a second workspace, release oneor more cloud resources previously configured to support operation ofthe first workspace.
 18. A method, comprising: instantiating, by a localmanagement agent of a client Information Handling System (IHS), a firstworkspace based upon a first workspace definition, wherein the firstworkspace definition is produced by a workspace orchestration servicebased upon initial context information of the client IHS; andinstantiating, by the local management agent, a second workspace basedupon a second workspace definition, wherein the second workspacedefinition is produced by the workspace orchestration service based upona comparison between updated context information and the initial contextinformation.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the comparison betweenthe updated context information and the initial context informationidentifies an application executed or installed in the client IHS duringoperation of the first workspace.
 20. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising migrating a workload associated with the application from thefirst workspace to the second workspace.